Watering plants with aquarium water

Idea

If you don't add chemicals to your fresh water aquarium, you can use aquarium water to water your plants. By doing so, you conserve water and help your plants grow.

Over time, natural compounds build up in aquariums from the breakdown of waste produced by fish and decaying food particles. In established aquariums (typically those that have had fish for six weeks or longer), bacteria are at work, feeding on the byproducts of fish waste. In this process, ammonia is converted to nitrites, and nitrites are converted to nitrates. Nitrogen is not only the most common element found in commercial fertilizers, it's also the most common element found in aquarium water, primarily in nitrates. Phosphates are also produced in smaller quantities.

You don't need to do anything special with your aquarium water to use it for plants. Since it has a room temperature, it can be poured directly on houseplants, outside flowers, vegetables, shrubs and lawns.

Limitations and Side Effects

Do not use the aquarium water if it contains:

• chemical additives like algae destroyers
• medications
• salt - both salt added to fresh water and water from salt water aquariums (see Salt as natural weed killer)

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